The answer is a big Yes!  This was actually a question I received from a reader a few months ago.  Whenever I have limited time or a few orders in a week, I will bake my cakes earlier in the week and freeze them.   Frozen cakes are also much easier to carve.  If you do it correctly, the cake will remain moist.

When freezing a cake, make sure you follow these steps...

• If necessary, level the cakes first.  It will save you time in the long run.  Frozen cakes are also extremely difficult to level off.
• You can stack leveled cakes like I have here.  Notice the wax paper in between each layer.  I also could have filled the cakes before freezing them to save even more time.  
• Wrap your cakes in plastic wrap as tight as you can without changing the shape of your cake. If you are afraid your cakes will absorb the odors of your freezer, place the plastic covered cakes in a brown bag.
• Keep your cakes on a cake board or flat surface.  If you freeze them on something bumpy, your cake will be bumpy when you defrost it.
• NEVER place anything on top of your cakes before they are frozen.  They will never quite go back to their original shape.
• Defrost your cake before covering it with icing...especially fondant.

Guest posted by Angela Rikels

I love anything that involves sugar. That being said it is pretty self explanatory why I was so excited to see the new bakery being built in my hometown. I watched closely, month after month, until the day came that I saw a sign on the front door. It would be open in two days and I absolutely could not wait to see what kind of wonderful confections that they had to offer.

Two days later, I jumped out of bed early, got ready, set my home security alarm I’d gotten from securitychoice.com, and I was off. I could just taste the gooey glaze as I drove to the new bakery. About a mile down the street I began to smell this wonderful aroma. It crawled in through the vents in my car. I knew that smell all too well. It was the smell of fresh donuts. The closer that I got, the more entranced I became by the overpowering smell that was wafting through the air. I waited in line for almost a half an hour that morning to get what I wanted. When I took the first bite of that glazed piece of heaven, I knew that I had spent every minute wisely.

I guess I do not have to tell you that I am now considered one of The Sugar Shack's number one customers. They even know me by my first name. I am not so sure if that is good or bad!

Here is another take on a Wizard of Oz cake.  In this guide you will learn how to carve a spiraling yellow brick road into a 10 inch round cake. 

To make this cake you will need....

two 10 inch round cakes
8 inch round cake divider
12 inch cake board
yellow and green buttercream icing
tips # 789 and #2
3 lollipops
gumpaste ruby slippers
gumpaste melted witch
3 gumpaste poppies
small Emerald City sugar plaque

Directions:

Step 1

A few days in advance, make the gumpaste decorations listed above.  These helpful tutorials will help you...

How to Make Edible Image Sugar Plaques
How to Make Gumpaste Ruby Slippers


Step 2

Level, tort and fill your 10 inch round cake then place it on your cake board.  Freeze your cake for a few hours or overnight.

***Decorator's Tip***  Freezing is not necessary but it will help reduce the crumbs when it is time to carve.


Step 3

Using your 8 inch cake divider as a guide, carve your path down the side of the cake.


Step 4


Ice the sides of your cake with the green buttercream icing then take your spatula and tap it around the icing to create the grass effect.

Next, using tip #789 and yellow buttercream icing, pipe the yellow brick road onto your cake.  This will give you the spiral shape you are looking for.  With tip #2 and yellow buttercream icing, pipe the bricks onto your road.


Step 5

Place your gumpaste decorations onto the cake and enjoy!

In the picture above I wanted to add the NY Giants logo to the side of a helmet cake.  I knew there was no way I would be able to pipe it free hand, make it straight AND be happy with the location on the first try.  My solution was simple...



 

• Make a template. I made a rough sketch but you could also print the logo off the computer.
• Stick it on and trace it with a toothpick.
• Pipe on the logo using the outline I made.

Last week I was searching for tips on making a book cake and I came across a blog similar in concept to Piece of Cake Decorating.  Cake Journal is founded and edited by self taught decorator, Louise Winther Dueholm.  She not only publishes helpful tutorials with great pictures but decorates amazing cakes, cookies and cupcakes as well.   Below you will see a few of my favorite cakes.





At first glance, I did not think this was a cake!






I love the flowers and falling petals on this cake.  Gorgeous!






Louise does amazing gumpaste work.  Look at that bow!
















Cake Journal has a tutorial on how to make those little cars.



What a great cake for a little girl.



I would love to make gumpaste figures like this.  Flawless!

















Thank you Louise for sharing your cakes with us! I hope all of you decorators out there stop by Cake Journal and see what she has to offer.

My FoodBuzz friend Brown Eyed Baker has come up with another great post. Here she answers MANY baking questions. This post is beyond helpful!


Baking FAQ: Answers to Common Baking Questions : Brown Eyed Baker

In this guide you will be given step-by-step instructions on how to make Tiana from Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog.'  Specifically, you will see how to lay the fondant to look like a dress.

To make this cake you will need...

1 covered, 10 inch cake board
Wilton Wonder Mold Pan or Pampered Chef's 4 cup, glass     measuring cup
large Wilton, Ethnic Doll Pick
buttercup yellow and sage green fondant
1 batch of buttercream icing
1/4 cup dark green buttercream icing or a tube of pre-made green icing
edible image plaque of the frog
small and medium daisy cutters
tips #2 and #67


Directions:

Step 1

A few days in advance, cover your cake board and make your edible image plaque of the frog.  Because it is a trademarked image, I cannot sell these plaques but if you have an edible printer, you can read my Sugar Plaque Tutorial and make your own.


Step 2

Bake your cake according to the pan's instructions.  Place the cake in the center of your cake board and ice with buttercream icing.




 Step 3

Cover your cake with the buttercup yellow fondant.  Make sure to bunch it at the bottom as I have here to give the appearance of a flowing skirt.









Step 4



Roll out the sage green fondant and cut out 5-6 large petal shaped pieces.  To make a petal template, draw your shape on a piece of paper, cut it out and place it on the fondant to cut your shapes with an Exact-o Knife or pizza cutter.


Notice in the pictures how the petals are arranged.  They are attached using a little bit of water.  Pieces of napkin where used to prop up parts of the dress until the fondant set.



Step 5

Dress your doll pick.  The first thing that should be done when dressing your doll is make the gloves.  This takes a bit of patience.  Roll out a thin piece of sage green fondant and wrap it around one of the hands and lower arm.  Flatten the fondant the best you can without tearing a hole.  Using scissors, cut around the finger tips.  To give the appearance of fingers, make indents between each finger using a toothpick.  Repeat on the other hand.

If you look at the original picture you will notice that the yellow part of her dress, covering her bust, looks like daisy petals.  Roll out the buttercup yellow fondant and cut out 3 medium and 2 small daisies using your daisy cutters.  Cut one of the small daisies in half for the tiara and use the remaining small petal to decorate her dress in the last step.  The medium flowers are used to cover Tiana's bust line.  They can be attached with a little bit of water.

***Decorator's Tip***  Let the tiara petals sit in a slightly curved position until you are done decorating so that the fondant can dry a little.

Next, using the same method for making large petal shapes in step 4, make 5 medium and 3 small petal shapes for the rest of her dress.  Use the pictures below to help you with placement.  They can also be attached using a bit of water.

**Please note that even though the pictures show the doll pick in the cake, I do not insert it until the next step.  It may not make a difference but it was easier for me to do it this way.**



Step 6

Stick your doll pick into the cake.  Cut a small strip of green fondant to make a belt and cover he transition between the cake and doll pick.

Step 7

Make the tiara by rolling out a small snake of sage green fondant to resemble a headband.  Place the headband on the doll's head and attach the 1/2 daisy using a small amount of water.

Step 8

Pipe the curly stem and leaves on the dress using tips # 2 and #67 respectively.  Attach the flower using a dot of green icing.  Finally, secure the frog plaque in place using a small amount of green icing.


***Decorator's Tip*** To make the dress pop, dust it with pearl luster dust.












Reader photos using this guide...

Making icing and fondant is an extremely messy job.  It is impossible to have a spotless kitchen after a job like that but there are a few tricks I have come up with to minimize the mess when making fondant.

• Work in a large bowl so you can keep the sugar off the counter.  As you can see in the picture above, I kept the fondant in the bowl until the very end.  I only kneed my dough on the counter when I do not want to add anymore sugar.
• Before you even touch the fondant, rub vegetable shortening on your hands.  By making them greasy, the fondant will not stick to you...AT ALL!  If it does then you need more shortening.
• If you have an electric mixer, you can use your dough hook to make the fondant.  Just be careful to mix extremely slowly in the beginning otherwise, you will have a bigger mess then you can imagine.
• If you decide to use the mixer then grease the bowl first.  Cleanup will go much faster.

This week I will be putting the spotlight on a cupcake factory in Austin, TX called Polkadots. Although this shop specializes in cupcakes, they create beautiful custom cakes and cookies as well. If you would like to see more of their wonderful creations and a picture of their gorgeous work space, visit www.polkadotscupcakefactory.com.






Today I had to start with my favorite.  This cake replicates the artwork found in 'The Cat in the Hat' wonderfully.









The details in this cake are great.  I especially love the handkerchief and hat!













The gumpaste and fondant work on all her cakes is amazing!


















Great job on the details here...








More wonderful fondant work.  Very cute!










Finally, I chose this cake because I love the tiara on top.














Thank you Polkadots for sharing your beautiful cakes with us.

I have recently been introduced to a site specializing in everything spicy.  Hot Sauce Planet sells everything from dry rubs to marinades and of course hot sauce.  I especially like their selection of Humorous and Funny Hot Sauces.  They have names like Fire in the Hole and Goin' Bananas Hot Sauce.  Those aren't even the funniest names.  To see those, you'll just have to visit www.hotsauceplanet.com.

For those of you who enjoy an insane amount of heat in your food, they have a category dedicated to you.  Hot Sauce Planet has a hot pepper sauce that measures 5 million Scoville Units of heat!  In other words, you don't get much hotter than that!

If you are looking for a huge variety of spicy sauces and products this site is a definite must see.  Hot Sauce Planet has something for every heat lover.


Thank you to Hot Sauce Planet for sponsoring this recommendation.

I love the story behind this week's feature, The Sweet Life. One day, the now owner, Jennifer Loftus was asked to make a sweet 16 cake.  From there her passion grew and eventually The Sweet Life was born.  Her shop is based out of North Carolina.  Her website, www.thesweetlifedirect.com, is very informative and has  an extensive photo gallery.  When you are done checking out my favorites, you should definitely stop by and see what else she has created.  Enjoy!




This time I started with my favorite.  The buckles look great!















Very creative idea.  I love the gumpaste stethoscope!














Wonderful job on this castle.  It is any little girl's dream cake!
















The dots really caught my attention on this one.  Very cool!
















I love black and red together like this and that piping work is amazing!
















Once again, I'm a huge fan of pops of color.














Thanks again to Jennifer for sharing your cakes with us.  Now show her some love and visit The Sweet Life.

Can you believe this is a bouquet of cupcakes? I love this idea for Mother's Day! I definitely recommend this post. Mari gives easy directions and the icing recipe is included although I think any buttercream icing will work.

With the warmer weather approaching and my weekends spent in the yard, I thought I would take a break from cakes and share with you a products I started using a few weeks ago.  BinkiniKitchen.com sent me their Booty Butter Tanning Lotion to review and I have to admit, when I saw the name and the bottle I was a little skeptical yet very excited to try it.

I don't know about you but my legs NEVER want to tan.  My husband has the same problem except worse.  His legs are as white as they get (sorry hunny).  Anyway, we were outside doing yard work so I figured we should both try it.  Putting the lotion on was a bit messy because it is brown but it smelled great and I love that you can use it with sunscreen and it still works, not to mention it is made from all natural products.  After a few hours in the sun we both noticed a difference in our legs.  I decided to try it out one more day before writing my review and as expected, my tan is even better.  This site claims to have the best tanning lotions on the market an I have to say that the Booty Butter Tanning Lotion certainly is one of them.

This tanning lotion retails at $27.95 for an 8 oz bottle but if you want to try it out before you commit to a large bottle, they also sell a 1 oz bottle for $2.95.  To purchase or see what else Bikini Kitchen has to offer just visit www.bikinikitchen.com.